Pokemon: Crystal Chronicles

[Avenger Angel]

Cyrus Mason
Saffron Junction

He realized there seemed to be something odd and peculiar about the girl and her demeanor, muttering gibberish and talking to herself. Upon taking the heavy crate, she protested, but as soon as she was aware Cyrus was not running off with the crate, she calmed down.

"Fine," She muttered to him. "Do as you like. Just don't run off with it."

After asking her for her name, all she muttered was a simple reply of "Rachel." In the meantime, he had a look at what exactly was in the crate to begin with, only to realize it was filled with simply paper and ink along with other tools, likely something meant for the stationary. Flipping through the papers, Cyrus was disappointed to realize they were completely unmarked, meaning to a thief like him, the entire box was nothing but junk, and he was simply wasting his time.

He was already putting himself at risk for being with the girl, as he had no idea who was watching and where she needed to be taking these supplies anyway. While the polite thing to do would have been to help the girl carry the box to its destined location, he was really not that kind of person, as he would have never become a thief in the first place. It was one of those moments where he needed to cover his tracks.

"Listen, Rachel, you're probably right," He told her, setting the crate down. "I thought I could be of help, but I'm sure whoever is expecting this parcel is expecting you, not me. You might get into trouble for letting a stranger like me to handle it. I think it's better for the both of us if I simply be on our way, but it was nice to meet you."

With that, he simply slipped back into the shadows and headed away, out to seek other opportunities. Whether or not Rachel told whoever she was meeting about him, she barely got a look at him, she didn't know his name, and chances were good the girl's mind was so clouded with thoughts that she might have completely forgotten about the encounter in the first place. Not to mention Cyrus had yet to commit a crime against her, so all it was in the end was a few wasted minutes, a trivial expense for a night that was simply getting started.

As he walked around town, it was really the business district that he was interested in. At night, the shops closed up and most of the shopkeepers went to sleep or went out to partake in the nighttime activities. The local drunks were still in the streets, but as Cyrus already knew, drunks that were tossed into the streets were usually fools that had already exhausted most of their spending money for the night for the liquor that currently rendered them intoxicated. Not to mention they didn't present much for a challenge. Regardless, he did keep eyes on the ones that were more lavishly dressed, as before Cyrus was quite adept at applying lubricant to remove valuable rings, swift at quietly snatching necklaces, and lightening the load when it came to relieving the rich of their valuables. And Cyrus was good at acting as the good chap that helped the laughing, rich drunkards to their feet while deftly selecting a trinket of his choice for his noble services.

As he walked through the market streets, he scouted around for any interesting and appealing opportunities to present themselves tonight.

 

[Drat]

Vyk ~ Saffron Junction ~ Lacqueredy’s Pub

Vyk leaned on the table again, his eyes shining at what he thought would be his bed-mate tonight. Here she was, for his taking. And as an added, bonus she would put him on a trail that could lead to the Bonsai. He simply grinned as she seduced him more, falling into putty in her soft, innocent hands. He was close to just sweeping her up there and finding the nearest hotel when the dreamy haze of their conversation broke. She turned quickly to the bar and avoided his eyes. Quietly, she whispered in a hurry,

“If you’ll help me, meet me outside the front of the pub tomorrow morning at sunrise - and don’t be late.”

Vyk reached out his hand to try and turn her around when that familiar gruff of a voice growled out,

“I thought I’d told you to stay away from her.”

Vyk froze in his tracks and closed his eyes in frustration. “Georgey, Georgey, come on now.” He wheeled around in his seat casually. “You know how love is. I can’t help it if we just click.” He snapped his fingers on the click for emphasis. George shook his head, obviously not convinced anything had happened between the two. “Hey! She was the one coming on to me!” Now if that didn’t anger the bartender, nothing would. He grabbed Vyk by his collar lifting him slightly off the ground. A deadly silence broke in between the two. Vyk hissed,

“Listen George. I like to think we’re friends of a kind. You helped me when I first got here. I appreciated that, truly I did.” Vyk pushed his hands forward. The side of his blade pushed slightly into the pudgy mans stomach. It stayed into his shirt, already showing signs unloosening the wool it was weaved by. Just a simple thrust of the hands and in it would go right into his fatty exterior, Vyk would have another blood mark on his shirt. George eyes widened, not even being able to see the fast drawing of his sword. Vyk leaned in,

“But if you don’t get your hands off me in the next five seconds I won’t hesitate to kill you and hop the next road outta’ this dump.” George stumbled back, his eyes wild with a mixture of rage and helplessness, dropping his niece’s apparent heckler to the ground roughly. Vyk sheathed his sword, dusting off his clothes, not that it helped. Somehow they always looked dirty. George looked from him to Avery, and back again. He turned towards Avery and spoke up in a loud voice,

“Avery, you can’t possibly be in with this guy! He’s a nutbag!” If Avery was going to answer, she was not going to get it in. Vyk spoke up proudly, standing a bit taller on his feet. “Yeah she is. Trust me. In fact, we’re heading out to Cinnibar tomorrow. I’ll teach her a little bit about surviving on my island, and in return I get some precious information. Of course, we may take a few rest stops along the way.” Vyk winked his eye on the last part.
George was almost pulling out his hair, or whatever he had of it. He cried out to Avery,

“Avery?! What the hell is going on here?”

 

[Maree]

Avery Lamentea
Saffron Junction ;;; Outside Lacqueredy’s Pub

At first, Avery didn’t even turn around to watch the argument between Vyk and her uncle ensue, but then, George went and lifted Vyk out of his seat by his collar and Avery thought that she’s better watch. And when she turned, her miss-matched colored eyes widened in surprise and horror as she saw that Vyk’s sword was pressed up against the bar owner’s beer belly. She hadn’t even heard him unsheathe the effing thing! Now, Avery knew that he would be very useful to her on her journey…that is, if her uncle didn’t kill him first.

But after a threat or two, George finally set - er, dropped - Vyk back on to his feet. Then the tan islander re-sheathed his sword and Avery thought that they might be out of the woods, but then George went and exploded at her. Avery opened her mouth to feed him a line that would pacify his anger, but never got a chance to utter a single sound for Vyk cut her off by basically telling George their whole plan – the one that Vyk had apparently agreed to.

Avery clenched her fist and gave Vyk a split-second death glare, wanting to slap him for ruining her cover with her Uncle, and slap herself for not telling him to keep quiet about it. But now she didn’t have time to play the blame game; now she had to think of an excuse to give George – fast. She knew she couldn’t completely deny Vyk’s statement, even George would be able to tell that she was lying, so instead she decided to tell the truth…well, sort of.

“Well now that he’s announced it to the whole freaking bar!” – Avery said, glaring evilly at Vyk before turning toward her uncle – “I guess I can tell you now. My little errand from Lady Nautia consists of me going to Cinnibar. But it’s a rather high profile assignment so I can’t give you any more details than that.” That was one problem down, and one tan, drunken one to go.

“This guy came over to me half drunk and we starting conversing. He told me that he was from Cinnibar and that he’d give me a few pointers on how to survive out there,” Avery glanced Vyk up and down, the disgusting look she had been trying to suppress now clearly on her face. Then she continued, “But I don’t know where he got the idea that we were actually going there together, or that I was hitting on him.” Then she raised her hand so that her mouth was shielded from Vyk’s view, but said in a loud enough whisper that he could still hear, “I think he might have had a little too much to drink.”

Then she stood up and added, “I’m fine Uncle George, really. But I think I’ll take this nut bag here outside for some air. You know, to set him straight.” Then before either man could protest, Avery grabbed Vyk’s hand and dragged him through the crowed pub, out the front door, and around to the alleyway beside the building.

Once the two were hidden by the shadow of the building, Avery stopped walking, turned to face Vyk, and slapped him square across the face – hard. “That’s what you get for nearly blowing my cover!” she yelled angrily at him. Avery knew that from the moment he opened his big *ss mouth inside the pub, that she would have to explain everything to Vyk. But she wasn’t going to do that without letting him pay for screwing up everything first. Avery just hoped that no one would come up and disturbed them while she was explaining…

 

[Drat]

Vyk ~ Saffron Junction ~ Lacqueredy’s Pub

Vyk watched in confusion as Avery went on to ramble about… something. He honestly couldn’t tell what was going on. Suddenly they weren’t going to Cinnabar together? Lady Nautia. The swordsman tried to come up with something to say. This time Avery beat him to it, she rattled off quickly after her explanation, “I’m fine Uncle George, really. But I think I’ll take this nut bag here outside for some air. You know, to set him straight.” Like hell she was. “I’m not goi-“ His protest was cut off quickly as the surprisingly strong girl drug him outside and around an alley. He cried out desperately, “But I never got my shots!”

Once Avery let go of his hand Vyk tried again to open his mouth, only to get a hard slap to face. He stumbled back, rubbing his hands on the quickly forming red welt on his cheek. He yelled out angrily, “What the hell was that for?” Avery retorted, “That’s what you get for nearly blowing my cover!” Ahh! Now it all began to make sense! Er… well kind of. So she was going to Cinnabar and needed Vyk, but she didn’t want George finding out. So she ‘played’ Vyk. He slapped himself for not realizing it earlier.

“I knew it! I knew it was too good to be true!” He shouted, on his knees. “I just wanted a drink, dammit! I didn’t want to end up kicked out of the only good bar in this city!” Vyk’s nights never ended like this, they usually ended up back in his shack, where he could lazily drink the night away in a drunk fuzz, this was just too much. Or, it would have been. Vyk’s mind flashed back quickly to that point in their conversation. If he was going to get anything out of this, it was gonna be that profile on Bonsai.

Vyk stood up slyly and stretched his arms.

“Well, not like it hurt or anything. And I never liked how their whiskey tasted.”

He walked over to Avery. “Besides, as long as you still have that info on Bonsai,” he flashed a quick look to make sure, “Then I’ll lead your little way on down to that dump Cinnabar.” He stopped and kind of cleared his throat.

“But if we’re getting things off our chests here I might as well come out and say it. I’m not actually famous in Cinnabar.” Vyk gave a moment for her reaction, which he was dismayed to find was little to none. “Well, uh, I know you’re shocked. But I’ll teach you how to live down there my way. Really, the natives aren’t so bad once you get past the warriors, foreign diseases, angry dark pokemon, and occasional psychopaths.” Vyk opened his arms to show the city to Avery, peeking into the alleyway.

“It’s just like being here!”

Vyk crossed his arms and stood solid on the cobblestone alley. A frown on his face, he started,

“Now that that's out of the way... Do you want to tell me what we’re really going down there for? Or is it still some secret?”

 

[Maree]

Avery Lamentea
Saffron Junction ;;; Outside Lacqueredy’s Pub

“Well…it’s a long story,” Avery said in reply to Vyk’s question as to what her real purpose for going to Cinnibar was. Avery thought that as long as he was still going to help her, she might as well tell him the truth. Of course, she would leave out that part about her being related to Lady Nautia, but other than that the islander was about know everything.

“I’m originally from Port Vermillion. When I was fifteen my father left to accompany Sir Hakan on his little expedition to make Cinnibar part of the Kingdom; my mother had passed away when I was twelve so I had nowhere to go. But, my archery skills got me a position on Guard of Lady Nautia over in Cerulean Coast,” Avery walked over to a barrel that stood in the alley beside the pub and sat atop while continuing.

“I haven’t seen my father for the past four and a half years so I decided I’d go and see him. But I knew that Lady Nautia wouldn’t let me go so instead I snuck out. I arranged with my uncle George in there to spend the night at his home, and told him that I would be passing though town while completing an errand for Lady Nautia,” Avery looked at Vyk for a moment to make sure he was still listening. “I knew he would never let me stay if he knew my real plan, plus as soon as Lady Nautia realize tomorrow that I’m gone she’s bound to send some of her guards after me and I didn’t want him getting in trouble for helping me, so I lied.”

She moved a stand of brown hair that had fallen in front of her face and looked down at the ground, slightly embarrassed to admit the next part, “When you came up to me tonight, I knew from the second I laid eyes on you that you were from Cinnibar. So I…I played you in order to get you to helping me.” Avery looked back up at Vyk, her eyes full of apology. “I honestly don’t know the first thing about surviving on Cinnibar but I do know some things about Bonsai that might be of help full to you. I understand if you don’t want to help me, but the deal is still on the table,” Avery finished and looked at Vyk, waiting to see what he would say/do now that he knew the truth.

 

[Kiruria]

OOC: Okay, now that I'm finally accepted, it's time for me to post here and for the GM to add me to the list. And I know my character is from Cerulean Coast, but since he has some business with Avery, I'm placing him in Saffron Junction (on a real errand for Nautia) for the time being.
IC:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cormack Tinuile
Saffron Junction

The sun had just set, and the sky was a deep shade of blue, growing progressively darker as time went on. At this moment, Cormack was riding on horseback along the roadway, which lead through a patch of short grassy hills. The small, boyish teen could only reach into the stirrups with his toes, but the friendly yet skittish mare he was riding on didn't provide too bumpy a ride. Up ahead, the firelights of Saffron Juction flickered about, and the occasional silhouette of a person wandered past. There was a little patch of orange sky on the horizon beyond those lights, a patch that was slowly fading into the night.

Taking an occasional glance behind him, Cormack could see the bright yellow moon just beginning to rise above the sickly trees of the Lavender Swamp. But every glance he took back there only made him want to arrive in Saffron sooner. Just a while ago, he had ventured out to the edge of this swamp, for the first time in about eight years, but even then he couldn't get within a hundred feet of the macabre wetland. This was mostly because of his horse, which he had borrowed from Lady Nautia's castle for purposes of errand-running. Every bone of the tawny equine quivered in the swamp's vicinity, and it quickly got to the point where Cormack had to fight with the reins in order to get her to step closer to the haunted wood. Yes, haunted--for at one point there came an unearthly moan from within the moist darkness, and a wisp of something hovered above the canopies. The place had to be haunted by some supernatural presence. That and/or infested with dark Pokemon. It was no wonder no one ever returned from there.

I don't know much about ghosts, Cormack thought as the buildings in the distance grew closer, or about the dark Pokemon. But I do know that fear often comes from the unknown. Or at least that's what my parents used to say. I do have to admit, there's something I just don't like about whatever it is that's in there... But no, I shall not be afraid of it. Someday I shall conquer the evil that lurks within that swamp. Someday I shall prove to the world that I am NOT the flaw of nature that is a runt. As a soldier on Lady Nautia's guard, nothing can stop me! Heh, I can't believe that I actually managed to make it onto the guard! I'm so happy... Ah, when I get back to Cerulean, I wonder if Avery will be back... I can finally have a CONVERSATION with her! An actual conversation!

And so it was with a smile on his face that the mounted Cormack arrived in Saffron Junction. Here he had an errand to run: Lady Nautia had written a letter to a bartender by the name of George Lacqueredy, and figured Cormack would be a faster delivery person than the regular mail-carrier. It was the very first thing the Lady had ever asked him to do for her, so he had to be careful not to mess it up. For a while he wondered what sort of business she had with a bartender, but regarded it as unimportant for now. He had a duty to fulfill, and he had to fulfill it regardless of the reason. Knowing the reason, especially if it was a suspicious one, could hinder his willingness to perform that duty, after all. This was something a fellow guard had told him, back when he was initially humiliated in front of the castle.

Now just where could that pub be? Cormack wondered, glancing between the letter in his hand and the jumble of buildings in the rather busy town. Though night had just barely fallen here, there were quite a few people wandering about. Cormack passed by a bum playing the accordion on a corner, a middle-aged woman pushing a wheelbarrow full of cabbage, a group of businessmen having a heated argument over who-knew-what... It was no wonder they called this place a "junction", as it was a crossroads for not only different places, but different ways of life.

After a few minutes of wandering, Cormack started to grow anxious. How was he supposed to deliver the letter if he couldn't find the bloody pub? He thought about asking someone where it was... but Lady Nautia had told him that Lacqueredy's Pub was the most famous pub in town, so he would feel like an idiot asking a question with such an obvious answer. After all, he had only been here once or twice before, and both times he had only been to the very northern edge of the town, where there was a marketplace where lots of delectable produce and interesting knick-knacks could be found. And only once had he had a drink here, and that place had such an unfriendly atmosphere that he never went back to it. Hopefully Mr. Lacqueredy would be of the friendlier sort. Maybe while he was there he could have a little drink, to celebrate his new position on the guard.

In a desperate effort to find the pub, Cormack stood up on the saddle, wavering a bit at first to catch his balance. He scanned around the area, hoping to find a clue... alleyway, kiosk, unknown building #1, unknown building #2, another kiosk, flute player, alleyway again, fiddler... wait a minute... Cormack got another look at the second alleyway, which was lined with cobblestones. Something light had caught his eye... A young lady with light braided hair, with very warrior-like clothing and... yes, that was Avery. He was absolutely sure of it. Of course, he only got one second's look at her before gravity won him over...

He landed on his side, bracing his fall with the side of his left foot and the meaty part of his forearm. It stung for a bit and he was sure he had left a minor scrape on his elbow, but other than that he was fine. Standing up and brushing the dirt off of his clothes, he refused to look at any of the people nearby. After all, he had learned that avoiding people's gaze was the best way for him to avoid humiliation, to avoid being provoked into arguments or fights. Instead he went right back to the horse, leading her along the street towards where the alley was. Where was it again? He lost his sense of direction when he fell.

When he turned the corner, there it was: Lacqueredy's Pub, in plain sight on the wide street before him. He made it. But there was no time to waste. He had to catch Avery before she disappeared somewhere. Spotting a nearby post, he hastily tied the horse's reins to it, mentioning something about being back soon. Then he crossed the front of the pub and peered into the cobblestone alleyway right nearby...

Avery wasn't the only one there. There was a man with her--a rather large and brawny one at that, though Cormack could only see his silhouette. No, it couldn't be. After all those years he sought after her, she was already taken?!? He could have sworn that she was single all this time... but perhaps there were things about her that he had yet to learn. At any rate, Avery was currently saying something to this man... so he paused to listen.

Initially, due to the noise in the street, he could only make out occasional words--like "Port Vermilion", "Sir something", "expedition", and "passed away". Using the shadows in the alley to his advantage, he ducked and crept behind a series of burlap sacks lying in the alley. As he did so, he kept his spear horizontal and low to the ground beside him, because at this point he was paranoid about people trying to steal it, especially with his new Poke'cite inside. As he crept closer, he began to make out more parts of Avery's speech. Then, at last, he got to a point where he could just barely hear what she was saying:

"...told him that I would be passing though town while completing an errand for Lady Nautia,” she was saying. She paused for a moment before continuing. “I knew he would never let me stay if he knew my real plan, plus as soon as Lady Nautia realizes tomorrow that I’m gone she’s bound to send some of her guards after me and I didn’t want him getting in trouble for helping me, so I lied.”

Avery was running away? How could that be?!? At the sound of the word "lied", Cormack placed a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from audibly gasping. His heart was beating faster now, and he had to try hard not to panic. But why? Why was she going to be "gone"? And just what was her real plan? Cormack sincerely hoped she wasn't planning to leave Cerulean forever. No. After all the trouble he had gone through to get into the guard? No, that just couldn't be.

“When you came up to me tonight," Avery continued, "I knew from the second I laid eyes on you that you were from Cinnabar. So I…I played you in order to get you to helping me. I honestly don’t know the first thing about surviving on Cinnibar but I do know some things about Bonsai that might be help full to you. I understand if you don’t want to help me, but the deal is still on the table."

She was going all the way to Cinnabar? But why? In his surprise, Cormack rose up a few inches. As soon as he realised what he was doing, he dropped back down again... only to have his hand slip on a fallen tin can, making a cluttering noise as the can rolled out from behind the pile of sacks.

Knowing that he had been discovered, Cormack froze in his place, now visible in the spot where Avery and Vyk had previously not been looking. His head was perking up above the burlap sacks. His spear was lying on the floor beside him, the tip visible from just past the sack pile. A glint shone from it just below the tip--a yellowish glimmer from some sort of gem on the shaft...

"A-a-avery!" Cormack stammered. "I-I-I was... sorry about the... I knew you from the... guard... in Cerulean... a-a-and I recently got a position there too and... heard about you and... well..." He had been struggling for a grasp on the right words to say, but after a short while the verbal muse had left him.

 

[Maree]

Avery Lamentea
Saffron Junction ;;; Outside Lacqueredy’s Pub

The brown haired warrior was waiting for Vyk to answer when suddenly a clattering sound was heard from behind a nearby pile of sacks. As a can rolled out from behind the sacks, Avery knew that they had some unwanted company – actually, any company they might have was unwanted company, but that’s beside the point. She quickly got up off the barrel she was perched atop of and in a blink of an eye had her bow and arrow in hand and aimed at the sacks.

But before Avery had a chance to demand whoever was there to show themselves, a very familiar looking patch of dirty blonde hair rose from behind the sacks. “Tinuile?!” Avery said in annoyance and confusion – but mostly annoyance – to the young member of Lady Nautia’s guard, calling him by his last name, as he fully stood up from his hiding place. He was rather new to the Guard and Avery had only briefly encountered him a handful of times back in Cerulean. She didn’t know much about him, but he had been the butt of many jokes told to her over drinks back at the local pub by the other guards in Cerulean, so she knew of his reputation; he was decent with a spear but not the world’s best fighter. Up close, he honestly looked a little kid to Avery – and it didn’t help any that she was clearly taller than him, either.

"A-a-avery!" Cormack stammered. "I-I-I was... sorry about the... I knew you from the... guard... in Cerulean... a-a-and I recently got a position there too and... heard about you and... well..." While he was stammering away, trying to form a sentence, Avery returned the arrow in her hands to her quivery and slid her bow back around her torso. The nineteen-year-old then marched over to Cormack, the fact that she was pissed off clearly recognizable on her face. She was going to put the living fear of daylight into this kid. But then it occurred to her that he might be of some use to her - and that it might be better if he wasn’t scared out of his wits by her – so Avery quickly adapted her mood accordingly.

“Look Tinuile, I don’t know what you just heard, but its probably not what you think,” Avery said to Cormack with a warm smile on her face. “Just let me explain,” and with that she walked back over to where Vyk was and stood beside him. “Change of plans,” She whispered loud enough for only Vyk to hear. “I’ll explain in a minute, for now just play along and keep your mouth shut.”

Avery turned around to face Cormack as she hooked her arm around Vyk’s arm and began another lie; “Tinuile, this is my...my good friend, Vyk. We’ve known each other for a long time.” ‘Yeah, about twenty minutes - give or take a day.’

“Vyk lives in Vermillion but ever since I’ve joined the guard I hardly ever get to see him – you know how strict Lady Nautia is about us leaving Cerulean and all. But when he told me that he was going to be in Saffron for some business, I knew I just had to come and see him. I figured that, since I’m off duty at night, no would notice if I slipped out to Saffron as long as I got back before morning,” she said. That explained who Vyk was and why she was here with him, but Avery didn’t know how much Cormack had heard so she decided to tell her story a little more.

“My uncle George owns this pub here and he said he would let me spend the night – oh, and I sorta told him that I was on an errand for Lady Nautia so if you see him, don’t mention Vyk – herm, anyway, I told Vyk to meet me here and when he came in dressed like this, I knew he had been to Cinnibar. See – I’ve always wanted to go to Cinnibar and Vyk here promised he would take me one day as soon as it got ‘safer’ for little girls like me,” Avery turned to Vyk with a smile, hoping he would play along.

“He told me it still wasn’t safe, but after a little groveling I finally convinced him to take me, but only if I agreed to take him to the pallet fields afterwards. See, my big strong friend over here wants to battle that sage, Bonsai – a crazy idea I know, but when it comes to fighting, Vyk is just very stubborn like that.” Avery gave Vyk another smile and a little squeeze before concluding, “It was getting kind of crowded inside so we came out here to try and figure out how I was gonna sneak away from the castle for that length of time. I told Vyk he would get in a lot of trouble if he got caught helping me so he didn’t have to help if he didn’t want to. And that’s when I nearly shot you with an arrow,” Avery laughed before looking at Cormack to see if he had bought her story.​